


One Night Stand Club

by ThirstyForEvans (Bibliophilic_Wit)



Series: It's What (T)he(y) Deserve(s) [1]
Category: What's Your Number? (2011)
Genre: Boston Pride, Casual Sex, F/M, Frank Discussions, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, If you don't like OCs you really should keep scrolling, Non-exclusive relationship, Open Relationship, Safe and consensual sex, Smut, colin isn't bad because he sleeps around, first person POV, he isn't good in spite of it either, honest relationships, no shame in the game, the game being having casual sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-15
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2020-03-05 20:18:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 20,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18836023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bibliophilic_Wit/pseuds/ThirstyForEvans
Summary: Colin Shea and Megan McMahon have an agreement. Casual sex and a relationship that isn't exclusive, but when you throw in the complications of upcoming weddings and stifling social norms, well... what could go wrong?Because Colin deserved better and we need more representation of women who sleep around confidently and without shame.





	1. 6C

Waking up to find a presence predictably crowding my bed, I rolled my eyes before promising to buy a bigger bed for what seemed like the hundredth time.  _ What was it with guys and spreading out over my side of the bed? Sure, they were bigger, but it’s plain and common courtesy to stay off the other person’s side when you don’t even have a side. _ I groaned and got up, pulling on the shorts I hadn’t bothered with last night, and righted my shirt. Stretching, I winced at a crick in my neck before padding on to the bathroom to get ready. As I got out of the bathroom wrapped in a robe, I pondered the man laying spread eagle on the bed and checked the time before getting dressed. As the coffee brewed, I ate a slice of toast before wiping crumbs from my mouth and shirt before applying a touch of makeup and pouring a cup of coffee. As I drank the coffee, I walked on over to- uh,  _ Ryan _ ? Yeah, Ryan. Shaking him awake gently, I pulled what I hoped would be a sympathetic smile. He blinked at me sleepily and I withdrew my hand to explain. “ _ Hey _ . It’s 6am, you said you had work at 7.”

“I can be late.” He mumbled and I sighed.

“I  _ can’t _ be, so sorry to get you up like this. Would you like a cup of coffee?” He nodded mutely and sat up.

 

“Wow you look  _ completely _ different without the slutty clothes.” He said offhandedly and my eyebrows screwed up in a combination of annoyance and unbelief.  _ I mean, really?  _

Shaking my head, I got him a cup of coffee, tossed him his clothes that were on the floor and shrugged a leather jacket on. Picking up the phone and wallet from the table, I stuffed them in my pockets before twisting my asymmetrical, curly, blonde locks upwards to clip it in place and finding my sunglasses.

It seemed Ryan was finally clothed so I waited patiently as he made sure he had his phone and wallet before letting him go out first. Shutting the door and locking it quickly before hastily taking the stairs and throwing a “ _ it was fun, have a good day _ ” over my shoulder. Traffic was busier than usual and I growled impatiently and swerved through what I could on my motorcycle.  _ How were there so many fucking cars on the road?! I swear I don’t even know one person in the city with a car, I mean come on _ . Pulling into the carpark, I took the stairs once more and arrived on the second floor 53 minutes late and sighed. 

 

Walking through to my suite, I took my place and greeted Camille with a smile. “I see your New Year's resolution is holding well.” I said, impressed. She laughed and lamented the difficulties of getting up early before agreeing that traffic was a hell of a lot easier. You both got to work, lost in the configurations and emails piling up on your computer, only looking away as the rest of the crew came walking in at 9. Taking a break, I convened at the break room and palmed an apple before giving everyone the take on the new mods that had to happen before subtly pointing out Roger and asking, “Okay, guys,  _ right now _ . Thinking or smelling?” 

They all gave a soft laugh and Camille replied, “ _ Ooh _ . No doubt, smelling.”

“Uh.” Karmine pondered, sitting down and evaluating his posture. “He’s  _ obviously _ thinking. Whatever she’s saying is  _ thought-provoking _ .”

Reggie scoffed, “That would be true if she were talking ‘bout what his fingers smell like.” Everyone gave a soft laugh and sat down as he looked over and pointed at me.

 

I huffed and walked on over reluctantly.

“ _ Yes _ , Roger?”

“Yeeeah, Megan. How are those reports coming along, sweetheart?” You clenched your jaw and didn’t bother to hide your rolling eyes.

“For the last time, Roger,” I said exasperated and held up my pointer finger, “that is not my job it is  _ yours _ ,” and unfurled a second finger, “stop calling me sweetheart,” a third finger joined, “you’re not my boss.” I pointed the three fingers at his unfazed face, and rounded on the spot to walk to back to my desk, deciding to send an email to HR and Roger’s supervisor again.  _ It’s like he didn’t understand the hierarchy because it was an open-floor office, honestly, the fucker probably didn’t even know what a Principal Software Engineer was _ . I scoffed, recounted the story for my amused coworkers while typing and then promptly forgot about the rest of the world until Camille tapped me out of the trance for lunch at 2.

  
  


“Don’t you  _ ever _ get tired.” She said with a smile as you stood up and stretched, blinking hard.

“ _ Yes _ . Now let’s get some triple espressos, I’m  _ dying _ here.” I responded with a smile and she led the way to the nearest place that had coffee I’d approve of, ordering on the walk over so you wouldn’t have to wait too long at the place.

“ _ So _ , big plans tonight?” Camille asks conversationally through the bustle of Cambridge.

“Well, my friend, Eddie, just got engaged so celebratory drinks are in order.”

“Oh,  _ yay _ !” She said with a smile, “To that...uh,  _ Daisy _ , was it?” She asked.

“Yep. They just had their first anniversary.”

“ _ Right.”  _ She said, nodding in understanding as she had been there amongst the massive crowd that had gathered in the park.

“We’re still doing the usual, though, trivia night at a bar close by, and since we’re on the same team they won’t all go crying home when I whoop their asses.” I grinned happily, thinking of nights spent wiping the floor with them in trivia.

 

“ _ Wait _ .” She said, suspicious, and I grinned, “Are you the reason we’re not allowed to do any games for team building night.”

I laughed, “I  _ may or may not _ have flipped a table.”

Camille laughed, “Because you lost?”

“ _ Pffft, no _ .” I said incredulously, “because Roger claimed we  _ tied _ since my properties were cheaper than his.” I explained and she scoffed in sympathy as you entered the cafe, the aroma of coffee alleviating your stress already.

“So we’re still doing a trivia night for Karmine’s birthday?” She asked, tracking down your coffee orders and handing you your cup as you responded.

“Well, that’s my fault, I guess, I offhandedly mentioned that I was off to my weekly trivia group but Karmine said she doesn’t care about winning and I stopped asking  _ are you sure  _ after three times, so… yeah. Guess I’ll go easy on her, or  _ maybe  _ we can team up as a suite?” I offered and headed out the door to walk back.

“That’s probably best, I’ll let Karmine know, she won’t care,” Camille said matter-of-factly and I hummed in agreement as she bit into her bagel.

 

“Are we still on for brunch and Ikea on Sunday, though?” I made sure and she nodded, her mouth full. I unwrapped my own bagel and through eating, drinking and maneuvering through foot traffic, it was a miraculous feat that we even made it to the office in one piece, nevermind that you didn’t talk to each other again. 

I nodded her off to her meeting before gathering my wits, ignoring Roger’s snide remark at my “lateness” to  _ my own meeting  _ that wouldn’t start in another 5 minutes and got back to work for another three hours when I could finally bid everyone adieu and get back onto my motorcycle. I checked the time and calculated how long I had before I’d have to leave while walking upstairs, and stopped short halfway at the sound of multiple people on the stairs.


	2. Trivial

Not that it was  _ weird  _ to hear people in my building, there were 24 apartments in the building and most of the third floor were BU students who were, depending on whether or not it was a weekday, either 2 or  _ 10 _ to an apartment. But this was a different type of robust noise,  _ someone was moving in _ , and there was only one apartment available last I checked, 6A right across from me. I was hoping to high heavens it would be a reasonable neighbour as I walked up, unlike the judgemental, bitter, 40-year-old divorcee who hadn’t got custody of her kids and would constantly complain about my ‘conquests’- her word- to the landlord, who eventually kicked her out because she couldn’t pay rent.

 

Just as I was coming into view of the last few stairs, a middle-aged man called up for everyone to  _ hurry up and get their ass in the car before he drove away without them _ , just as the last echo of his threat died in the stairs, at least eight people, looking from between four and forty, came scrambling down the stairs with a greeting I could barely reciprocate while a middle-aged woman yelled down for Barry to  _ shut up so that she could say goodbye in peace _ . A warm, calm, masculine voice came from the door to reassure his Ma that he was  _ fine _ before some murmurations and an eventual goodbye as I finally reached the top floor. The lady said a warm goodbye, and I responded in kind with a wave, meeting baby blue eyes. I smiled warmly at him, nodded a hello as his Ma continued talking as she descended the first flight of stairs, and made my way inside my own place. Things were looking up, as what looked to be a single guy in his mid to late 20s, was probably a good sign for me and my peace of mind.

 

I was knackered from the long day, so I took a bath instead of showering, giving myself ample time to shave my legs and underarms as well as check in with the pubic hair, before washing my hair and soaking in the tub with some top hits coming from the small radio near my bed. I yawned, reluctantly got out of the tub and lounged in my towel while eating leftover Chinese before re-doing my slightly chipped black nails and blow-drying my hair. Hanging up my towel, I padded over to my dresser as I tamed my hair and looked for an outfit.

After deciding on a skin-tight jeans and a well-cut top that exposed my midriff as well as ample cleavage through lace, I pushed all of my belongings into a small cross-body-bag and glanced at the time before heading over to my closet once more.

After all the work I had put into cleaning up the nail polish around my toenails, I decided on some black peep-toe heels that barely qualified as boots since the cut exposed my heel and toes with the majority of the fabric consisting of see-through lace that zipped together before sending a thank you text to Eddie and a promise not to be late. With only makeup to go, I quickly finished off the rest of my food before binning the containers and drinking another coffee before brushing teeth, applying some makeup and heading out the door with a cursory glance at the new neighbour’s door that showed no activity.

 

The ride was short and calm, and I greeted Eddie at the door with a hug, helmet in hand. “Congratulations, Eddie! First round is on me, yeah!” You insisted before asking how he proposed. You walked in together and you handed your helmet and leather jacket in as he talked animatedly and led you to the bar. 

I signed up the group as The Affianced after some pondering and made my way to an empty table with a round of beers and wedges as everyone else arrived. They all chatted about the upcoming games as well as the wedding and the proposal, and Eddie confirmed his brothers would be his groomsmen, and his best friend, Matt, would be his best man. I fist-bumped him as his excitement peaked and then quickly took to shushing everybody as they dimmed the light and turned the projector on while Cameron made it to the stage.

Everyone clapped obligingly as he introduced the basic trivia game, “Okay, everybody! My name is Cameron, and I will be your host this evening- I’m seeing a lot of familiar faces, but let’s run through the rules real quick.” He said energetically, with a smile and the last of the chatter died down.

 

“Alright! We encourage you all to face this way, so if you wanna go ahead and shuffle around so you can all see my masterfully constructed powerpoint, that would be helpful.” He said and a few chair scraped the floor as the customers obliged. As the sound died down once more, Cameron clapped his hands together. “Okay, so easy as, we have a submit box over there-” He pointed out the submissions box, “that our team go through every week and add to this awesome box.” He unveiled the simplistic wooden box. “These are our questions for tonight. The big box is kept in the back, and the questions are rotated so that the same question can’t be repeated for three weeks. So,” He said, placing his hand on the box. “We have one hundred questions here tonight, comprised of ten rounds of ten questions. The questions are all, as I said, submitted by staff and patrons, and then researched by me and and the team. I’ll ask each question, and sometimes they will require a bit more physical challenges or have a media counterpart, which is what this thing’s for. So the questions range from books to geography to international cuisine. Without further ado, I would like to congratulate my good friend and regular customer, Eddie!” He gestured to Eddie, and Katy spun the light on him as he stood up while we all clapped. “He just got engaged, everybody!” Cameron enthused and everybody cheered happily. “Bring the man some champagne, Charles!” Cameron grinned, and Eddie accepted the tray of champagne at our table and sat back down as Katy swung the spotlight back to Cameron. “Alright. So, I’ll ask you all to keep our good sportsmanship up and keep your mobile phones away as we embark on each round. If you have more than eight players, we ask you to split into two groups or alternatively join a group that has space for you. You can also go sit at the bar, or at any place that is carpeted. If your group doesn’t have a pen and answering sheet please stick up your hand so we can provide you with one.” He quickly said and paused as people changed seats and Katy ran around to hand out pens and paper. 

 

“The judge’s- that’s me-” He pulled a face, and everyone laughed, “decision is final. If, afterwards, you would like to discuss the questions we would be happy to do so as long as you understand that it won’t change your points or the outcome of the game. All questions are worth only one point, you can choose not to answer or participate at any time, a timer will count down for each question before I ask the next one and we do have a special tie-breaker if it gets to that. Oh, and, try to keep your excitement down when you know a question so you don’t let everyone in on the answer.” He said conspiratorially and we all smirked knowingly. There was always someone who shouted out the answers. “Let’s get to it, then.”

He clapped his hands together, and dramatic music played as he lifted the lid from the box, and grasped the first question with a flourish.The music tapered off into the lively background instrumental music we were all familiar with and Cameron smiled, “What is the capital of Idaho?” The 20 second timer started ticking down as I quickly wrote down  _ Boise _ in block letters. 

The questions ranged from  _ What is the name of Will Smith’s character in Independence Day? _ \- Captain Steve Hiller, to  _ Which singer is married to Trudie Styler?-  _ Sting. We were on a gleeful streak, as far as we could tell, for the first round and I tucked the answering sheet in my pocket as usual while everyone stretched and got drinks for the five minute break. The first round was always more of a warm up and the more interactive questions were sure to rear their head soon…

 


	3. Easy

Sure enough, three questions into the second round Cameron grinned, “This one is attached to an interaction as well. Remember, it is still only worth one point, and you do not have to participate…” He smiled reassuringly, “Let the youngest player in your group come on up and answer this 1980s themed question.” Matt, Eddie’s younger brother obliged with a nervous smile and we all cheered him as he walked the five steps to the front. Once everyone had gathered, Cameron continued, “Okay, so just stick up your hand if you know the answer. First person to answer correctly gets the point- my apologies to everyone else.” Cameron took a drink of his water bottle and Matt shook himself slightly, hopping from one foot to the other.

“You got this, Matt! Don’t stress!” I shouted and he shot me a thumbs up with a much more confident smile.

“Which all-girl group had sang the number-one hit that topped the charts in November of 1986 and rode the number one spot for  _ four weeks _ into 1987, Walk Like An Egyptian?” Cameron asked dramatically, and my held breath came out in a whoop as Cameron’s hand hit the air two seconds before anyone else. Luckily Cameron was paying attention, and grinned, pointing to Matt. “Yes?”

“THE BANGLES!” He yelled enthusiastically and Cameron laughed in approval as he gave Matt a thumbs up.

 

“Yes! That is correct. Sorry everybody else, which group are you with...uh?”

“Matt.” He responded and shook Cameron’s hand as we all waved in acknowledgement.

“Ah! You must be Eddie’s little brother. Good job, bro, playing in the big leagues.” He joked, and Matt grinned proudly and made a fist-pump in response to his brother. “So, what are you guys called  _ this week _ ?” He asked Matt, and Matt thought for a second, and was about to acknowledge that he didn’t know, before Cameron caught on and laughed. “Of course, you don’t know.” Matt looked slightly affronted before Cameron reassured him, “She never tells anyone, don’t worry about it. Back to your seat.” He waved Matt off before redirecting his attention to me. “Well, Meg. What do you have for me this week?” He laughed along with Eddie and a few others. I smiled wide, and dramatically waiting for silence before announcing, “Well for tonight! And tonight only!” I wound up, barely keeping a straight face as our table drumrolled per tradition, “We are...  **The Affianced** !” I yelled and burst into laughter along with Eddie and most of the room.

Cameron chuckled, “Of course you are. Well, one point to The Affianced which I’m sure is already marked by Meg,” He smiled as I nodded, “and now unto our next question.”

 

Five rounds later had us at 47 correct questions, which was a high score for a team night, and we cheered happily as the 20 minute rest of half-time began. I went off to the bathroom as Eddie went to order food for the table and as I sat back down. “ _ Of all the gin joints in all the towns _ .” A familiar voice encroached, that dug up feelings of uncalled-for dread. You raised your eyebrows and evaluated him, a small smile on your face as he dropped into the chair next to you with a nod of your head.

“ _ Of all the cliches in all the world. _ ” You responded disapprovingly and he smiled.

“So, did you decide to do that  _ social studies major _ in the end.” He teased.

“I don’t have to laugh at your jokes anymore,  _ Josh _ , I’m not your student.” I replied easily, a smile nonetheless touching the edge of your mouth.

“It seems weird for you to call me Josh, even though it’s just a couple of years between us.” He stated and raised his glass to toast. “ _ La chaim _ .” I withdrew my glass and took a sip before responding to his previous statement.

 

“Well, I’m  _ not _ calling you Professor in bed,  _ Josh _ , so let’s just get over it with this drink.” I proposed as he tried to look surprised and failed.

“Am I  _ really _ that obvious?”

“You’re really lucky I cared about getting good grades more than your teasing, or  _ you _ might not have a job right now.”

“Wow. Luckily, I got that under control after you left.” He admitted.

“Really?  _ Why _ , do you have a girlfriend? Wife? Husband?” I asked quickly as he laughed.

“No. I’m  _ not _ gay, and I’m  _ not _ in a relationship.” He reassured me, “I just realised what this job meant to me after my best student left. I figured I owed it to every Megan,  _ and all the others, I guess _ , to actually help them achieve their goals.” I smiled.

“I’m glad.” I said honestly and finished the drink. “ _ So _ , my place or yours?”

He laughed, “What about you give me your number first, and then I’ll wine and dine you tomorrow, instead?”

I smiled, indulgently, as I shook my head, “I don’t do relationships.”

 

“Well, how about this.” He proposed with a smirk that I responded to with familiarity. “If your group wins we go to yours, and if I win you give me your number and go one  _ one date _ with me?” I grinned.

“That seems like a real win-win... _ for you. _ ” He shrugged.

“True, but either you get what you really want or you get free food, so it’s really a win-win either way…” He said temptingly and I reclined back into my chair as I smiled.

“You’re really just riding this on my competitive personality, aren’t you?” I accused, my eyes quinting slightly at him and he smirked.

“Yes.” He said simply and I evaluated him.

I nodded thoughtfully, and spotted Eddie closing in with a frown, and grinned sitting back upright and sticking my hand out. “We have a deal.”

“How about we seal it with a kiss instead?” He offered and I scoffed.

“ _ Pushing it… _ ” I taunted and snorted before grasping my hand and shaking it twice as Eddie came up to the table. “My place it is.” I responded confidently as our hands drew apart and Josh began to protest.


	4. Professor?

“Professor?” Eddie asked and I masked my smirk with a beer as the two caught up, Josh’s cheeks staining a slight pink. They chatted for a while about what they were both up to and I murmured occasionally to stay active in the conversation. When the 2 minute warning bell sounded, Josh excused himself and Eddie turned a raised eyebrow to me, I simply shrugged and held his hand up for a high five that I gave with a roll of my eyes.

“Let’s win this thing.” He said with renewed determination and I grinned.

“I knew you had heard our conversation.”

“Oh, I’ll always have your back, Meg.” Eddie replied with a smile and you gave him a one-armed hug in thanks as the game started up once more.

 

Once the last question had rolled by and gone, we sat confidently and I grinned at Josh who didn’t look very fazed. Cameron was waiting for the timer to count down and drank a sip of water before organising the cards slightly. “Alright, that was our game everyone. Now for the answers, we’re going to go through these fairly quickly, but please shout out if you have a question about specificity. This is where the judge’s,” he pointed to himself, with his finger, “decision will come into play. Let’s begin…” He said and started with the last question going backwards until all of the written-down questions had been confirmed. A few calls were made over specificities of spelling (Aluminium, apparently Aluminum was also accepted) and the requirement of writing out NYPD (not necessary), there was also an argument about whether Boston Common and Boston Public Garden was the same Park (judge’s ruling: yes). 

 

After all of it we were at a proud 86 correct questions, and Cameron called up a representative. “Okay, bit of teamwork here...I want you all to decide who answered the most questions- correctly or incorrectly, doesn’t matter- and send them up here with your answer sheet.” I blinked slightly in surprise as everyone at the table pointed at me.

“But,” I pointed at Ralph, “He took on most of round four and five?”

“And you took on every other round, Meg.” He laughed and I grinned sheepishly but broke into a grin as the all started chanting. “Me-gan, Me-gan, Me-gan!”

“Okay, okay, okay!” I acquiesced, and stood up. I was the second last to join and I narrowed my eyes as Josh waltzed on up confidently. Josh smirked at me and I rolled my eyes as Cameron asked us to hold up our right hands and to lower them once the number he had said was higher than our correct answers. As we got to the eighties, everyone but me and Josh had returned to their seats so Cameron beckoned us closer and then grinned triumphantly as I inwardly groaned.

 

“Ladies and gentlemen! We have a tie!” He crowed enthusiastically and my grin turned genuine as I saw Josh falter for a moment, his eyes roving over the paper in Cameron’s hand. The crowd was cheering, relaxed now that they were no longer apart of the spotlight, and Cameron continued, “Okay, so our tie-breaker for this evening is based on the board game  _ Loaded Questions _ ! So, we’re going to have you both pick a team member you know best and then we’ll settle this once and for all.” Cameron said happily and the crowd cheered again as Josh walked back to his seat, conversing with his friends over strategy as I simply smiled.

Eddie got up with a smiled, grinning confidently and I nodded, he made his way over, high-fiving me as he came up front. As Josh picked his team member, Katy threw up a one minute countdown and Cameron walked on over, hugging us both. As Josh and his friend,  _ this is Gabe _ , joined us all, I straightened my posture and smiled as Katy procured four chairs, two red and two blue, and arranged them two-by-two so the two rows faced each other.

 

I smiled at Josh as he invited me to sit on the red chair by his side, and took the blue seat next to Gabe instead. I introduced myself with a smile, complimenting them on their game as Cameron and Katy got ready, introducing the game to the crowd who was now surprisingly focused on the free and live entertainment in front of them. “Okay,” Cameron began, “We’ve given this new game a name, _Do_ _I Know You?_ ” He said with a smirk. “So based on the idea of _Loaded Questions_ , just a bit more personal and perhaps a bit more _adult_ seeing as everyone in here is over the age of twenty-one.” I raised my eyebrows gamely at Eddie and he smiled. Katy handed us all a pad of A5 paper and a sharpie as Cameron asked the first questions, going row by row. “So, for the blue team, _What is your teammates nickname?_ ” Gabe guessed Champ correctly for Josh, who had the same written on his board and I grinned as _Minuteman_ was squashed into the space, Eddie’s writing as atrocious as always. The crowd clapped and the game continued from there. 

 

Easy questions like my favourite colour (green) and Eddie’s job (software publisher) were thrown in with harder questions like my first kiss (Ernie) and young Eddie’s celebrity crush (Lea Thompson) as well as questions of the more embarrassing fare, like his favourite sexual position (cowgirl) and if I had slept with someone of the opposite sex (yes). The last category seemed to trip up Josh and Gabe the most as Eddie and I sat unperturbed, answering all of the questions correctly without much hesitation. “Okay, it’s still anybody's game, even though Eddie and Megan  _ are  _ in the lead by one point, so for our last question,” Cameron paused for effect, “We’ll have you rotate those pads so they’re portrait,” we all obliged easily, “and answer the question about yourself and your partner for one point each. So, at the top, what is  _ your _ all-time favourite song?” I smiled immediately and scribbled my answer before waiting patiently as Cameron continued, “and now, of course, at the bottom, what is your  _ teammate’s _ all-time favourite song?” I quickly answered and placed the Sharpie in between my legs as I planted the pad facedown on my lap to wait for the rest. Eddie was biting his lip and I could tell he was trying to remember the spelling, the look on his face reminiscent of when he was trying to remember The Euclasian Distance formula.

 

“Alright! Turn ‘em over!” Cameron says excitedly and smiling confidently at each other, we turn our pads up and over, grinning confident. First, I glance a look at Josh’s pad and then crane my neck to see Gabe’s but they’ve only got one correct so I smirk but scoff a laugh at Eddie’s spelling of  _ Nosferatu _ -at least he’s right. Eddie’s is easy,  _ I’ve Got the Power  _ is a banger I’m sure everyone would dance to at any time. I high-five Eddie as we get up, Cameron congratulating us is background noise as we head over to our clapping table to drink some water, I check that Sam is happy to let everyone crash at her place around the corner before saying goodbye to everyone else and finding Josh at the bell desk.

“We didn’t discuss how we were getting here, so I didn’t do anything. Should I get a cab?” He asked as you gathered your leather jacket.

 

“Nah.” I said, shrugging it on, “I still have the motorcycle, and I only had one drink in the last hour.  _ Promise _ .” He nodded and I led the way to the bike, before giving him the spare helmet and guiding his hands around my waist and stopped short. “Just allow me to tilt as I need to, don’t tilt extra, and don’t counteract.” I said quickly before turning the ignition and speeding off into the street. Josh was a good amateur rider and flushed slightly at the compliment as he caught me up on his life while we climbed the stairs leisurely. I eventually recounted my own life after leaving UMass before leading him inside. “Would you like a drink?” I asked. “I have all of the usual suspects.”

“Nah, I’m good.” Josh said, “That was  _ not _ my only drink for the night.” I nodded in understanding before shrugging off my jacket as he walked on over to kiss me.

 

“ _ Fuck _ .” I stated bluntly, breathing harder than usual as I rested beside him. “I always suspected you knew how to fuck, but I am glad I stayed away from you.” I said, turning to face him. “I could  _ never _ have focused in  _ Software Programming _ after  _ this _ .”

He breathed a chuckle before nodding, “I suspected you’d like it  _ rough _ , glad I was right.” I hummed in agreement and drew a blanket over my sweaty form as he continued, “I felt like such a  _ pervert _ thinking about one of my students. Getting off thinking about bending you over that  _ damn desk _ .” He rasped.

I gulped, “We have a whole 3 months of pent-up sexual energy to act out on from  _ five years ago _ , please tell me you’re not finished just yet.” He groaned, kissed me soundly and moved his fingers back between my legs as I grinned in victory, letting my fingers curl into his hair as we kissed again. As he got to work, I vaguely heard some low shushing and high-pitched giggling near my door, and realised it must be 6A.  _ Good for him. _

 

Spending the night mostly swapping stories and fucking on every surface of my apartment was just what I needed after the last few months. We laughed at a few fumbles and he made sure I was enjoying myself, not half-bad at fingering my cunt, but it wasn’t until later when he admitted he was  _ moving here  _ and glad he knew someone on  _ this side of the river _ , that my gut curled unpleasantly while he fell asleep.

_ Damn _ , Josh was a good fuck, but I had been counting on the fact that I wouldn’t see him again soon,  _ if ever _ . It was amazing what 6 miles of city could offer in the form of anonymity, and I always made sure they didn’t live or work on your side of the river for this reason.  _ Shit _ . I couldn’t help falling asleep despite my churling thoughts, it was an unpleasant discovery but all my worrying would be for naught if we were on the same page. 


	5. 6A

The unpleasant feeling at Josh’s revelation came back with a vengeance as he turned over, still sleeping, and cupped my breast. I glanced at the time, not too surprised that I had slept in for once, and crept out of the bed.

I quickly got some clothes on before shutting myself in the bathroom to call Camille.

“ _ I just slept with my old Professor _ .” I confessed easily.

“ _ EWWW _ !” She said in disgust and you sighed.

“First of all, that’s ageist. Second of all, not  _ old-old _ , old as in  _ ex-old _ .” You explained and she ohed in understanding.

“How drunk  _ were _ you last night?” She asked.

“Not at all drunk, I always had a crush on him, but he teaches at UMass so I didn’t think to do the usual questioning of where he lived, turn out he’s moving  _ here _ .” You said, slight panic taking over your voice.

 

“ _ Why _ are you panicking, you’ve set plenty of guys packing, Megan.”

I groaned, “I know, Camille, and I love the empowerment but  _ sometimes _ I just need someone to listen to me rant and agree  _ not _ give me a different perspective.”

“ _ Try Karmine _ .” She suggested, teasingly.

I groaned. “It’s fine, sorry to be such a _whiny ass_ , I’ll see you tomorrow?” I asked and she hummed in agreement before bailing to have breakfast with her boyfriend, Logan. I sighed and peeked out the door to see Josh pulling on his pants, facing away from me. Eventually I got out of the bathroom, gave him a nod as he mutely gestured toward the toilet, and worked on a game plan. _It was just rude to ask him to leave and not offer coffee, right?_ _Although there is a Starbucks just over the stree_ t. Accepting that I was a horrible person was a familiar sensation so I hid the bread in the microwave and stashed the coffee pot in a drawer along with the milk, just closing it as the sound of a toilet flushing and a door opening let me know he was done. 

 

“Morning.” He greeted cheerfully.

“ _ Morning _ .” You attempted to match his tone, and smiled as he strode across your space and into your kitchen. “I think you’re out of toilet paper.”

“Okay.” You responded, and then murmured, “ _ It’s just in a cabinet, how would you even know. _ ” Screwing up my face in confusion,  I shook my head at his back.

“You make coffee?”

“Nah, my pot’s broken. There’s a starbucks just across the street, though.” You motioned.

“Ah,  _ that’s okay. _ ” He said, opening your fridge as you sighed.  _ Right, he was a teacher. Which meant, he was also an assuming asshole. Why didn’t I remember he was this overbearing last night? _ “Did you get the newspaper?”

“No.” Was the answer that came out of your mouth immediately, “No, no,  _ I don’t get that _ .” I finished, half-frowning to myself.

 

A quick knock fell on the door and I frowned before taking the few steps to the door and opening it to find 6A on my doorstep, holding out the newspaper. I suppressed a grimace as he greeted me cheerfully, “Mornin’ 6C!”

“ _ That’s not mine. _ ” You said unconvincingly and took the newspaper from his hand to threw it into the middle of the spiral staircase with practised ease. 6A looked on with an amused smirk as it flew through the air, before turning back to my expectant face. He pushed through the doorway and I clenched my jaw as he pointed his thumb at his door as he explained. 

“I locked myself out of my apartment.” He explained, closing the door behind his back as you looked on in confusion. “Yeah, my  _ keys, wallet, phone, everything _ …it’s over there.” He shrugged and closed the door soundly, “Can I use your phone?”

 

Just as I was contemplating the weirdness of 6A’s manners, I decided to give up and chalked it up to a coffee-less morning before nodding in acknowledgement and padding off to find my landline. I looked back to see Josh sitting at my dining room table, paging through a book on programming absentmindedly, barely noticing the newcomer.

“Sure, actually, Josh,  _ I think 6A really needs my help _ . I’m sure I’ll see you around, right?” I said as I found the landline under a pile of magazines and walked back to 6A as Josh finally stood up to shake his hand in greeting. 

“Hey, man.” 

“Colin.” 6A introduced himself.

“Nice to meet you.” Josh nodded.

“ _ Yeah _ .” 6A, Colin, agreed and smiled before retreating to lead against the column of your kitchen with a smug look on his face while Josh walked over to you. 

 

He took my  hands in his, tracing his thumb affectionately and making me squirm as he asked me out.

“So, what about some dinner tonight?” Josh asked and you managed to suppress your groan.

“Tonight, tonight?” I attempted to stall, panic clearly in my voice, and Josh simply murmured in agreement before kissing my hands. I frowned at his closed eyes in utter bewilderment trying to come up with a good excuse. “ _ Uhmmm _ .”

“Agh, you know what?” A regretful-sounding Colin chimed in and I stared at him apprehensively as his smile grew wider. “We have that, uh,  _ tenant’s meeting _ tonight.”

“Right!” You jumped quickly on board, mentally annoyed with him for the weak excuse. “That’s right. So not tonight.”

“Just skip it.” Josh frowned.

“No, no, couldn’t do that. We’re trying...to...get...uh” I scrambled through some excuses. “We’re trying to get a  _ Zoophile _ evicted. Yeah,  _ serious stuff _ .” I said, my cringing face very real as I recalled poor Bandit in 4D. Colin looked surprised and I gave him a look that Josh couldn’t see as I finally freed myself from his hands and walked him toward the door as Colin’s smirk grew in size. “Yeah, you know. Good luck with the, uh, move, welcome to The Cradle of Liberty and  _ all that jazz _ .” I rambled as I opened the door.

 

“Okay, well it’s been awesome seeing you again, Megan. I’ll see you soon?” Josh nodded and I sighed in short-lived relief before I was promptly smashed up against the wall of my entrance as he planted his lips forcefully on me, pinning me to the wall and using his height advantage to lift me up as well. I groaned in annoyance, and luckily he didn’t plan on a long kiss and let me go as I gave him a tight-lipped smile while he left. I didn’t deign to say goodbye again and gave a growl of annoyance as Josh smiled smugly at me, passing Colin’s opening door-  _ wait, what _ ?! A long brunette girl with curls and a badly-skewed clubbing dress exited the apartment looking confused and I quickly slammed the door before she could see Colin where he had moved so Josh wouldn’t see him smirking. “ _ Hi, I’m Josh _ ” came from the staircase just as after the door clicked shut, and I span around, smirking as you saw Colin attempting to hide behind a column in my living room. 

 

“Hey!” I accused him, “Do you think the  _ woman _ coming out of your apartment could have helped you with the  _ being locked out problem? _ ”

A low chuckle came from him, and I smirked as he vaguely attempted to cover for himself. “ _ Okay _ . I had a bit of a situation that I needed to get out of.” He admitted, his hand curling around your column. “ _ Not unlike your situation _ .” He gestured, and looked up at me to see my smirk. His own widened into what seemed like a genuine smile. “ _ So _ ... _ I… _ ”

“Lied to her, then lied to me.” I finished, walking over to fish out your coffee pot and milk from the drawer, knowing full well my ridiculously short shorts left nothing to the imagination, just like the top. 

“I look at it as trying to avoid her feelings.” He said and his eye caught my record collection lining the back wall as I put on the coffee maker.

 

“Where’d you get this?” He asked, eyeing the Sex Pistols single,  _ God Save the Queen _ .

“Passed on to me by my pop. I grew the collection quite a bit, but the oldies are all his.”

“ _ No shit _ .” He said, impressed.

“Shit.” I said matter-of-factly. “ _ Coffee _ ?”

“Sure, I’ll take a cup if you aren’t throwing me out.” He admitted, and took a seat.

“Why would I throw you out?” I asked, half-yawning as the stress of the morning faded from my mind.

“Most girls are not this fine about a guy that clearly sleeps around.” He states and I cock my head in reluctant agreement.

“That’s probably fair, though that would be fairly hypocritical since I was  _ literally _ just in the same position.” I said, handing him his cup and sitting down across from him.

He laughed, “True, but still. Good save with Bandit,  _ poor mutt. _ ”

 

“He’s a sweetie, really, and it turns out he just had hemorrhoids and Mrs Techt across the hall hated 4D or something.  _ False accusations _ .” You informed him, still remembering the relief of that day with a hand across your heart as you frowned at him. “How’d  _ you _ know, anyway?”

“Oh, I got the whole building on google alert.” He motioned with his finger, “Come from a family of cops, it’s in my nature to dig up dirt. He totally tried to  _ marry _ Bandit, though, right.” Colin frowned and took a sip of his coffee.

“Nah, that turned out to be her too.  _ Damn, that bitch really hated everyone _ . She stayed where you are by the way.” I motioned to his apartment as he hummed thoughtfully. “But you would have found that out eventually,  _ only been here a day and a half _ , right?” He shrugged in assent and drained his cup before standing up and unashamedly ogling me before heading to the door.

“ _ Well _ ,” He looked through the peephole, “Looks like the coast is clear.” He said, and opened the door partially while looking back at me. “Thank you.  _ You’re a peach _ .” He said in an upbeat tone, a smirk on his face.

I smiled and raised my cup in salute, matching his tone, “ _ You’re totally gonna owe me for that. _ ”

He laughed but nodded before leaving to go to his apartment as I pondered what to do today. 


	6. Minuteman

Just then my phone rang, and I yawned once more before heading over to my bedside table to retrieve it. “Hello, Megan McMahon speaking.” I said automatically.

“Hey, it’s Eddie. First of all, when are you going to save any numbers to your phone. Second of all, I just wanted to check in and make sure you’re okay after Josh before third of all.”

I scoffed in response, “It’s just your number that isn’t saved,  _ Minuteman _ . Also, I’m slightly sore and what can I do you for.” You said, sitting down on your bed.

“Daisy has taken all my input for the cake selection and Ally’s having a crisis, can I come chill at yours, it’s like a block away?”

“Sure, you know I’m never busy Saturdays.”

“Well,  _ personally _ I didn’t want to catch my favourite professor naked, so…” Josh said and you heard a knock. “That’s me by the way-” He continued, and you swung open the door and ended the call. “ _ Hi _ .”

 

“Hi Eddie. C’mon in, I just made coffee, help yourself, I’m gonna get dressed.”

“That’s probably for the best.” Eddie said, walking over to the kitchen.

“If you repeat that mermaid theory from  _ How I Met Your Mother _ one more time, I swear-” You said, rummaging for comfortable clothes in your dresser as Eddie cut you off.

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” He said and slurped his coffee. “ _ Sorry _ .”

“ _ Good _ .” You responded and went to the bathroom to get dressed in something comfortable. I took my time getting dressed, knowing Eddie would make himself home as he always has and coming out to find him lounging on the couch with a sandwich, freshly brewed coffee in hand.

I poured a cup and sighed into the mug as I joined him on the couch, just sitting in a comfortable silence. “ _ So _ ,” I began, “What are you up to today?”

 

“Well, Daisy said she and Ally were going out for lunch and then we’re having a  _ wine tasting party tonight _ .” He said smilingly. “You?”

“Oh, I’m going to that launch party for  _ Okay!  _ with Victor later.” I said, excited. “Apparently they have new multi-chrome lights that analyse the amplitude and wavelength of the beat as it plays and then the lights change colours and flashes along.”

“ _ Nerd alert! _ ” He sounded and you both laughed, before being interrupted by his phone, with an exasperated-sounding Daisy was on the other line. I lifted an eyebrow in question as he got up and found his jacket before hanging up. “Ally’s bailed on her, so she’s ready to leave now.”

I nodded in understanding, yawning again, “ _Well_ , I should take a nap anyway, this last work week really _fucked_ _over my sleep schedule_.” I said, standing up to see him out and holding his coffee so he could shrug on his jacket.

“Alright, Meg. I’ll see you later, have a good time at your  _ little disco _ .” He said bemused before taking his cup, draining it and giving it back to me.

I rolled my eyes before dryly responding, “Who knew being in a committed heterosexual relationship could make a guy so  _ gay _ .” He only laughed, punching me in the shoulder lightly before heading downstairs. 

 

After copious bingeing of B99, I felt relaxed and loose-limbed, even stress-free if I just ignored the slight edge of panic when I thought about the amount of programming yet to be done-  _ nope! Not going there, maybe I’d see if I could get another guy to fuck me senseless tonight seeing as it will always be the most effective stress-relief method I have in my repertoire. Otherwise, some erotica and a vibrator would get me to a dreamless sleep I needed.  _

Victor messaged me to get ready at 4, so I ignored him for another 5 episodes before finally getting up and squeezing into the tightest dress I owned, though it wasn't particularly tight by clubgirl standards. It hugged the slight curve of my hips, and loosely framed my collarbones with an off-shoulder neckline. The same loose fabric dipped halfway into the length of my back, showing off my shoulder blades. The rest of the dress was fairly basic, an asymmetrical cut that exposed most of my left thigh but ran to a thin, pointed end at the back of my right calf. The dress itself was a beautiful, shimmery mauve that I paired with a dark red lipstick, a slight dusting of black, glittery eyeshadow and mascara. Deep purple, high-heeled ankle boots that looked like they were wrapped in velvet would pass for matching in the lighting of the club and I put on my black wrist wallet containing only my ID and credit card just as my phone rang from the couch.

 

“Hello, Vic!” I greeted enthusiastically.

“Meg! We’ll be there in 5, you ready?” He got to the point, his tone still friendly as always. 

“Heading down now.” I confirmed. “See you soon!”

He let out a whoop of excitement and I laughed, the phone pressed against my ear with my shoulder as I worked my key off the chain to place in my small wallet. He hung up and I left the phone on silent by my entrance as I locked the door and headed down. 

A door opening at my back has me curiously looking back and I smirked as Colin appeared at his doorway. “Hey neighbour.” I greeted friendly, and kept walking down. His quick steps caught up with me easily, and he smirked as he fell in step beside me.

“Lookin’ good, Megan.” He said appreciatively and I smiled at his slightly less disheveled appearance. 

“Thanks, you don’t look so bad yourself.” He smiled and subconsciously dragged a hand over his short button-up shirt. 

“What’s the occasion?” I asked, curious.

 

“Well, last time I checked nightclubs have a dress-code, and there  _ really isn’t a place like it  _ for finding a slightly-tipsy woman I want to bang.” He said easily, glancing down at the door.

“Well, I’m heading to that new club,  _ Okay! _ , with some friends, wanna tag along?”

He mused for a second. “How will I get home?”

“We can split a cab?” I offered. 

“Sounds like a plan.” He said, before pausing to open the door. “You sure your friends won’t mind?”

“I’m sure.” I smiled and thanked him as he motioned for you to go first just as Victor’s car made a turn at the corner. I pointed the lime green clunker out to Colin who muffled a laugh as I elbowed him slightly before stepping closer to the curb. Victor rolled to a slight stop and I opened the door for Colin to go in first as I explained through Victor’s rolled-down window, “He’s coming with!” Victor nodded once, and I launched myself into the high seat, scrambling to close the door as Victor pulled away from the curb with a screech.

Colin’s chest was pressed against my arm as he leaned slightly over to buckle me in place. “ _ Safety first _ .” He murmured by my ear and I smiled, thanking him with a soft touch to his forearm. 

 

“ _ So! _ ” Victor said full of insinuation and I sighed, knowing what was coming next. Nonetheless, we dutifully scooched closer as you introduced him to to Lim, Victor’s best friend as she gave us a brilliant smile.

“This is my new neighbour, Colin.” I motioned to Colin and winced as Victor righted the car after looking back.

“Oh, yeah.” Lim said approvingly, “ _ Definitely _ an upgrade from Ms Tight-Ass.” She said while chewing on her gum. I nodded, my eyebrows raised empathetically as Colin took a hand to his chest.

“ _ Stop _ ,” He said playfully, “ _ You’ll make me blush. _ ” You shook your head slightly at his antics as Lim turned her head back to the road to assist Victor’s driving as he tried to steer the conversation back to his previous train of thought.

“So,  _ Meg _ , why is  _ Colin _ coming with?” He asked, his tone so full of insinuation that Colin raised an eyebrow as I rolled my eyes slightly.

 

“I’m  _ not sleeping with him _ , Victor, he was just going out at the same time and I was trying to be friendly.” I responded plainly as Colin’s eyes widened slightly in realisation. Victor opened his mouth again, but I interrupted him before he could utter a word, “And  _ no _ , I’m not trying to set him up with you, there really is  _ no ulterior motive _ apart from the fact that we’ll share a cab home.” You and Lim made to begin her line of questioning, but I continued over her, “No, Lim, I  _ don’t _ know which team or teams he bats for,  _ you can ask him yourself _ .” You huffed, exasperated as Colin barked a laugh before answering Lim’s unvoiced question. 

“I _exclusively_ sleep with _different_ _women_.” He smiled and she nodded in understanding before speaking.

“Just so we’re clear,” she said before quickly pointing out the parking garage Victor almost drove past, “We’re all going to the bar with the same goal in mind, so for the record; we’re both gay.” She pointed to herself and Victor, “and Megan is bisexual, if you didn’t know yet.” 

 

“I feel slightly out-gunned in that case.” Colin said jokingly and I laughed, slapping his arm playfully.

“ _ Actually _ , I really need a guy to fuck me hard, so...” I shrugged. 

“Is it a different experience being with a guy versus a girl?” Colin asked politely.

“I mean, the equipment is obviously different so when I want  _ headboard-rattling _ , rough sex and sore muscles I kinda need a guy, because I really dislike dildos, but with a girl I know I’ll cum more so…” I mimicked scales with my hands. “At the moment I just need to relieve some stress with a real workout  _ not _ necessarily cumming a bunch of times, I can do that myself anyway with  _ a lot less emotions involved _ . “

“So, basically, guys are easier for one night stands?” Colin surmised.

I shrugged in agreement, “Yeah, I  _ guess _ so.”

Lim chipped into the conversation with some lady-woes Colin chimed in with and you laughed slightly at their lamentations over the morning-after etiquette as Victor finally found a parking.

 


	7. Okay!

As Victor parked, Lim changed her focus to making sure they would remember the car’s location and arguing with Victor over his parking. Colin made to get out of the car, but I stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

“I was just wondering, what if you decide to go to the girl’s place, I don’t have my phone so maybe we should have a signal?”

“Nah, I never go to a girl’s place.” He said easily, “What about you?”

“No. I have to get up early tomorrow morning, I don’t have  _ time _ to do a walk of shame.” He nodded and got out of the car as I did the same and convinced Lim that Victor’s parking wasn’t that bad. She scoffed but got out of the car anyway as Victor searched for the ticket he was gifted. 

“How does that work?” Colin asked me, and I turned to explain.

“Victor got it as perk for closing a deal with a client, well” I amended, “the owner of the club. So he got a ticket with a vague  _ plus guests _ that the guy said would work with up to 10 people with no issue, but all our friends are in relationships and didn’t want to come, or were busy.” You shrugged and Colin made a face of understanding as you all fell into step to find the entrance, walking out front to wear the pulse of the music could be felt in the air. Your group walked past the massive line of slightly scowling soon-to-be-clubbers and right up to the clipboard-wielding man who let you all in with barely a glance and a wave to the man on his left to open the door for us.  

 

The already loud beat magnified by at least 100% as the door swung open and I breathed deeply for strength before ambling in behind the others. The place wasn’t as packed as the line outside would suggest and I quickly got mesmerised by the pulsing lights all around the club.

The dance floor was made up of light panels and strings of light ran under the edge of the bar counter as well as against the cornices of the walls. I was snapped out of my reverie by Lim pulling me away and to a small corner table dotted by four barstools. I smiled at her teasing look and dutifully took a seat before looking at the menu. You chatted easily over the menu items as your gazes began to travel over the throng of people, mostly just to get a scope of the kind of crowd that showed up. It was mostly older business investors and rich kids at the moment, but I theorised that the crowd could change once people without a ticket were admitted and the rest nodded along sagely. After deciding that we were taking too long, Victor offered up a suggestion to order a round of beer and four of the recommended cocktails so I grinned and said, “I’ll go get it.”

 

Colin stood up, “I’ll help you carry.”

“Okay, thanks.” I said, standing up and meandered through the few people standing and up to the bar. The bartender was predictably hot with fiery auburn hair and twinkling blue eyes, darker than Colin’s and completely bypassed me to ask Colin his drink order. I successfully smothered a laugh and watched with a grin as he smoothly ordered the eight drinks. She really turned the charm up to eleven and tried to subtly get him to buy her a drink as I grinned unabashedly behind her at Colin who sat unfazed, and refused to buy her a drink. She called him  _ such a tease _ with an unfairly cute giggle before turning to get our drinks as I burst out laughing. Colin grinned and his chest shook with silent laughter as I muffled my laughter with my knuckles as she pointedly looked around to find the source.

 

I took a step closer to him so he could hear me, “So, are you thinking bartender?”

He shook his head, “Nah, she’ll flirt with  _ anyone _ for extra tips.  _ That’s no challenge, Megan _ .”

I raised my eyebrows, “So you like the chase?”

“Don’t you?” He asked with a predatory grin.

You hummed, not that he could hear you, “I haven’t had a challenge in a while-”

He interrupted me with a snort and I cocked my head in confusion but he declined to elaborate with a shake of his head. “- but not tonight. I hope you’re not planning on staying long, I was planning to get home before midnight.”

He glanced at the clock that displayed 10:20 and grinned, “That’s  _ plenty _ of time.” I smiled and took a step back as the bartender returned and crossed her arms, leaned into them and pressed her boobs up as Colin ogled her with purpose. I glanced at the ample cleavage myself and leaned over to pay with my credit card as she turned the machine to Colin, who didn’t bother hiding his laughter at her bewildered expression. I took the four beers in hand and left Colin to carry the cocktails with the tiny tray she provided, and made a beeline to our table. Victor pointed out his target group and I smiled as I distributed the beer and took a seat. Colin was not far behind and put the tray down in the middle, quickly letting us know the names of the cocktails and pointing out the three rumored-to-be-lesbians that were blocked from Lim’s view, out to her. 

 

Lim took her beer and walked over to where Colin had pointed as we all chatted about out first time chatting up a mistaken sexuality. Luckily Lim came back flushed and grinning,  _ sans beer _ , and took a sip of each cocktail which Colin snorted at. I tapped on Colin’s shoulder and pointed out a girl I had spied with model-worthy looks and done-up dirty blonde hair that was pouting at her friends’ obvious ogling of the guys dancing near them. “ _ She’s _ definitely not looking for a guy.” I said, and Colin clinked his glass into mine with a  _ cheers _ and drained his beer before proceeding to give the cocktails a similar treatment at Lim’s insistence. They disagreed on which cocktail was the best while I finished my beer in sync with Victor and tasted the cocktails. I agreed with Lim on the choice of the coffee-blast while Colin argued over the subtle taste of mint in the lime cocktail, but we all looked on in confusion as Victor proclaimed the  _ mango _ one his favourite, all chiming in that it tasted  _ a tad ripe  _ for us as he shrugged and downed it. Lim and I split the two remaining cocktails as they now scoured the bar for a guy for me. 

 

“ _ Let’s see… _ ” Colin surmised, “Who can bring it in bed?” I laughed at Colin’s turn of phrase, but then I spotted him. He was  _ obviously _ letting his eyes rove over any girl near him with a cocky smirk yet a reserved and relaxed posture. 

He locked eyes with me and I smirked before leaning against Colin and cocking your head while getting Lim’s attention, “Lim! Your two o’clock.” She let her eyes travel to him as you continued to eye him before looking at Colin. “ _ What do you think? _ ”

Colin smirked, “I think he’ll do.”

“ _ Good _ . Then let’s dance!” Victor proclaimed as he drained the last of his cocktail. I helped Victor pile the empty glasses and bottles onto the tray in the middle of the table before we made our way out into the dancefloor. 

“Will you dance with me?” I asked Colin, he furrowed his eyebrows. “It’ll make him come over and if she thinks you’re a player it will be even harder for you.” I challenged.

“ _ Great _ .” He said, huffing, “You already know how to push my buttons,” and pulled me closer by my hips.

 

I smiled at him and rested my hands on his shoulders as the beat rang out. The new song started up with a low, pulsing beat and I turned around to briefly lock eyes with the guy as my hips began to circle in time with Colin’s. We weren’t touching, apart from his hands on my hips and I leaned to the right to see his face, he was gazing at the woman’s group as the beat changed and Victor whooped close-by. “ _ It’s our song! _ ” He shouted.

I grinned, and dragged Colin with as I crowded closer to him and Lim as we bounced and bopped to the beat. Once that song ran into another remixed lyric, Colin went off to pursue the girl with a squeeze to my hand and I nodded vaguely before getting into the beat of the next one with Lim while I explained to her how the lights worked. Finally the guy approached me and Lim scampered off to were Victor was chatting up his guy. I took a glance at Colin who seemed to be making progress with a beer in hand as two warm hands splayed around my middle from behind. He stood a little to close for my comfort, but I only glanced down to make sure it was him before leaning into him slightly and subtly curving my neck in invitation.

 

His voice wasn’t as deep as I anticipated but I nonetheless felt goosebumps rise as he let his breath caress over me. “Wanna get outta here, doll?”

“I don’t even know your  _ name _ .” I said and let my hips find the beat again, challenging him as I grinded into his space. He took a while to match my beat and my eyes wandered over to Colin who looked at me with a smile as the woman laughed at something he said while leaning into his arm. 

“It’s Zach.” I hummed so he could feel it, and he placed a kiss to my shoulder before I turned around to face him.

“Megan.  _ My place? _ ” You asked, and he thought about it for a second before conceding, I took another look at Colin who took a while to catch my eye before holding up four fingers. The woman he was with was out of sight, but I took Zach’s hand and led him to the exit. 

 

A small white limo with party lights pulled up, and asked, “ _ McMahon _ ?”

“Yes.” I said, slightly surprised and glanced at the exit where Colin was finally coming out with…

“Megan, this is Andrea.”

“Zach, this is Colin. We’re  _ just neighbours _ splitting the cost of a ride home.” I reassured both of their slightly panicking expressions before raising an eyebrow at Colin who simply opened the door for Andrea before getting in. I followed next and Zack closed the door as I realised why Colin had chosen this ride.  _ Shea _ was emblazoned on the divider and I simply smiled knowingly as Colin turned the music up, and poured us all champagne. The ten minute ride wasn’t even a quarter of the awkwardness there usually was and everyone was again pleasantly tipsy, or acting like it, by the time we pulled up to out apartment. I dictated Lim and Victor’s numbers to Colin so he could send them a selfie of us in reassurance before leading the way upstairs. 

“Your hair is  _ amazing _ , Andrea, what shampoo do you use?” I asked and Zach promptly asked Colin about his sneakers. The build of tension dissipated as Andrea explained  _ it was all actually in the conditioner and blow drying _ while you walked up. I vaguely heard Zach go on about his sneaker collection, and thanked the heavens I wouldn’t have to hear about it as we split up again. We each unlocked our doors as we complimented our partners and I grinned as Zach crowded me against my door. 


	8. Payback

Groaning slightly, I checked the time, and realised I needed to get up. Reluctantly, I got up and put the tumblers in the sink before contemplating my situation in front of the bathroom mirror. Deciding to deal with everything later was basically a reflex and I put all thoughts of Zach from my mind as I washed my pleasantly sore muscles in the running shower. Minutes later, I was getting dressed when I heard Colin’s slightly muffled voice from the hallway.

“ _That’s not my fault._ ” He laughed, and realisation dawned on me. I quickly pulled on my shoes jeans and shoes as he continued his conversation. “ _I told you_ _not to put it there_.” I just caught him before he closed his door. He raised a brow expectantly, before calling over his shoulder. “Try under the bed.” With a grin. “ _Mornin_ ’, Meg.” He greeted.

 

“Good morning, Colin.” I said and watched with an unabashed as he bent down to collect his newspaper, only a tea towel covering his groin and an apple in hand. “I’m cashing in that favour, now.” He groaned with a grin and threw his newspaper inside.

“ _ Yeah _ ? What can I do for you?” He asked, obviously confident, with a challenging gaze. I didn’t avert my eyes and conversationally walked closer.

“Can you keep an eye on my apartment and lock up after Zach leaves? I need to get going and I’d rather not…” I trailed off slightly.

“ _ Deal with him _ ?” Colin supplied, and I made a noise of uncertainty.

“I was gonna say  _ wake him up _ ...but yeah.” I conceded, and Colin grinned. “So, what do you say?”

 

“That’s fair, I’ll keep an eye out.” He agreed. “So where are you off to so early on a Sunday morning?”

“Brunch and shopping at Ikea with my friend Camille.”

“She sounds hot.” Colin replied, taking a bite of his apple.

“She is.” I confirmed, “Though it’s only fair I tell you she has a boyfriend.” He hummed noncommittally, before removing the tea towel from his crotch and dabbing at his mouth where the apple juice had ran over his lip. I cocked my head and evaluated his cock shamelessly before letting my eyes slowly trace their way over his body and back up to his eyes where he was smirking. I matched his smirk, “You gave fun with that, now.” I said and turned to get the rest of my things.

“ _ See you around, Megan. _ ”

I sent a mock salute his way as I opened my door, “ _ See you around. _ ”

 

The drive to Camille’s apartment was predictable, and I greeted her enthusiastically before she called over Logan to give her the keys. He just yelled catch and threw them in an arc obviously over her and into my awaiting hand as I greeted him.

“I  _ was _ going to give her the keys.” Camille defended and Logan and I laughed before he walked over and kissed her in apology. 

He waved from the balcony as we pulled away from the garage, and Camille reciprocated enthusiastically and then connected her phone to play some music while I found my way unto the I-95. She turned up the music loud with a grin I bopped my head with the beat as she banged out more full-bodied moves. When we got to Ikea, I quickly checked-up on Colin with a text as Camille called Logan to remind her what they actually needed. The food was suspiciously good, as always, and Camille caught me up on her weekend of rest as we avoided shop talk with practised ease. I told her about Colin, who she thought Logan would get along with so I decided to make a tentative date of it and pledged to invite Colin along to Karmine’s birthday party next week since it was at a pub. 

“On that subject, I was talking to Karmine’s sister, Rachel,” Camille began, “and since it’ll be on Wednesday night, she was hoping we could invite more people so Karmine doesn’t get all sad like last year.”

 

The corners of my lips curl into a sympathetic smile, “If only she would just hold her birthday parties on the weekend like the rest of us.” I murmured and Camille shrugged. “Anyway, sure.” I agreed easily, “I’ll send a text to everyone and try to entice them with beer and trivia.”

“Okay, good, because I already invited all my other friends and only, like, three of them can come.” Camille said and I frowned in confusion, before she elaborated. “They’re all too far away or not up for weekday drinking and I know you still attend the weekly trivia with a group.” She shrugs.

“Oh,” I said, slightly surprised. “Okay. Actually, let me do that now before I forget- walking these halls is like being in a different dimension.” Camille snorted a laugh and I grinned, looking down at my phone and seeing Colin’s text.

_ Everything all good here, Zach left without a fuss and I locked the door after myself. _

I send a quick  _ Thanks! _ In response before deciding to type another message while I was at it.  _ A friend at work is having a bday party on wed, trivia at a pub, wanna come? _

That settled, I quickly typed a shorter text to a couple of group chats, and Camille’s phone pinged. She silenced it after a glance, seeing it was me, and got up so we could finally start wandering.

 

It was about an hour later that we finally got to the exit, and I sighed as I pushed Camille’s trolley while she perused the plat section. When she caught up with me, empty-handed I groaned and she shoved me playfully. I shot her a grin. “Ice cream’s on you.” I decided and she nodded before handing me my bag of stuff and entering a queue. I glanced around and realised the express checkout two ailes over was almost empty. I leisurely walked on over and checked my messages, seeing a couple of responses to my previous texts including Colin’s  _ Sounds fun, but you gotta tell me more about it when you get home, though. _

I texted a thumbs-up before taking my turn to quickly scan through the items and pay. I glanced at Camille’s direction and saw an attendant reaching over to scan her bigger items so I walked over to wait for the smaller items to slide through. I responded to a few more texts, giving the actual time and address before helping Camille by packing all her smaller items in the bag as she payed. I placed her bags along with my own down on the trolley and took over after she pushed it out of the way of other shoppers.

 

“I see basically everyone is keen.” Camille said with a yawn.

“Yeah, everyone likes pub trivia nights and a beer after work.” I shrugged and she hummed noncommittally as her phone started to ring. She quickly relayed her purchases to Logan who was mostly checking when you’d get back- “ _ in an hour, max. _ ” I whispered and she relayed the information with a smile as I raided her handbag for her purse and found it at the bottom. She sat next to the trolley and I quickly got our ice-creams before heading back just as she was saying goodbye.

“Thanks.” She said with a smile and took her soft serve.

“No, thank  _ you _ .” I grinned and handed her purse back, she smiled and pushed it back into her bag. “So, how’s everything since I saw you 48 hours ago?”

“Good. Colin seems fun, and he tagged along to the opening of that club Victor got us tickets to. Apart from that, I think Eddie’s future sister-in-law is having a breakdown which can’t be good for the bride-to-be. Not much I can do about that, though, so…” I trailed off and shrugged, pondering the situation.

 

Camille sighed, “C’mon, spill. What’re you thinking?”

“Nothing, really. It’s just- Eddie’s helped me out of a lot of sticky situations, it’s what we do for one another and I can’t help him with this one even though it’s probably the biggest issue he’s ever faced. What if Daisy doesn’t go through with the wedding? What if Ally ruins it for them?” I stressed.

Camille ate her cone and then sighed. “If they can’t make it through this, they’re not gonna get through a year of marriage, hun. With or without your help. I know it seems like you’re helpless, but even if you could fix Ally’s problem you wouldn’t be fixing Daisy and Eddie’s stress.” She said sagely and I but my lip, forcing myself to give a quick nod and devour the rest of my ice cream. On the ride back I turned the focus on Camille and she gushed happily about Logan and her parents getting along until we got to their house. I hugged Camille, waved her inside and then sped off home on my motorcycle.

 


	9. ⍰

“Rough day?” Called a now-familiar voice from upstairs. I looked up and pause to see Colin leaning on the bannister. I sighed.

“Not really, but somehow it is anyway, yeah.”

“Wanna come with me to  _ The Field _ and get a pint?” He offered. “On me, I owe you one.”

“Yeah? It’s only 1pm.” You countered and he nodded. 

“It’s Sunday, we can allow for some day-drinking.” He deadpanned and I shrugged before changing directions.

“Okay.” I accepted, glad for the distraction knowing I would only procrastinate and overthink myself into Monday morning meetings otherwise. “I just need to take this inside.” I said, holding my Ikea bag up.

“Okay.” He said, his tone upbeat as he clapped his hands together and then patiently waited for me to ascend.

I trudged up another flight before I asked, “How’s your day been, anyway?”

“Well, my day has been fantastic actually. I had morning sex with Andrea who was very clingy but actually took Zach’s number as they both left. Zach didn’t steal anything and I have been napping and playing guitar since then.”

 

“Well, I  _ am _ glad everyone isn’t having a shit day.” I said as I unlocked my door and then placed my bag at the entrance before closing and locking it once more. Colin fell into step with me as we took the stairs and I bit my lip, trying to distract myself and I asked, “So, were you already heading to  _ The Field _ ?”

“Yeah, there’s a basketball game my friend and little brother are coming over to see.”

“Little brother, huh?”

“Hey, now.” He said in an admonishing tone. “My brother is off limits.” I rolled my eyes and shoved him.

“I just meant you seem like a little brother, you ass.”

“Mmm, no. Middle child, I have an older sister and a younger brother.” He said with a soft smile and I rolled my eyes again but responded in kind. “How about you?”

“Only child.” I admitted.

I held the door open as he thanked me before heading in the direction of the pub.

“So, by the way, what is _this_ supposed to be?” He asked, handing me his phone. I looked at it slightly puzzled, mostly because it was a _flip phone_ and then looked at the screen. My last text simply showed up as ⍰ and a laugh bubbled up from my lips before I explained it to Colin, showing him my phone as he rolled his eyes.

As we put away both our phones, he asked, “So what’s with a mid-week birthday party?”

 

“So my work friend Karmine, a sweetheart but a bit of a pushover and the most un-opinionated person I’ve met, always insists on her birthday party being held on her birthday. It falls on a Wednesday this year and her sister is afraid Karmine will be sad if too few people show up so she asked me and Camille to invite anyone we thought would come.” He frowned and led inside the pub before shrugging in ascent.

“Yeah, I’ll tag along. Haven’t done trivia in a while, should be fun.”

Colin only offered a  _ Harpoon _ with a questioning look and I simply nodded before finding a too-big booth. I smiled at him after my third long drink. “Thanks.”

He shrugged and leaned into the table.

“No sweat. Wanna talk about it?”

“Not at all.” I said, taking another drink as Colin nodded once and re-engaged with his beer. “Thanks for taking care of my apartment this morning- sorry I didn’t even ask if you were busy.” I rubbed my hand over my face.

“Hey, we’re all even now. I don’t have things on in the morning, and even if I did I would have just told you.” He says easily and I smile again, feeling exhausted by the action.

 

The game starts about 20 minutes later so I ask, “Are they running late?”

“Yeah, but they should be here soon. Probably just traffic.” He yawned and got up to get another round, this time providing four beers and I don’t question it as he pushes one in front of me, I simply toe off my shoes and lean against the hardwood backing to draw my feet up on the seat and locking eyes with the screen. I can’t say I have the time to get into sports at a level where I know which teams these are but it’s a good distraction nonetheless.

“Hey, Megan?” Colin asks five minutes later and I turn my head to glance at him. “We can get kinda loud, so we might just move to a different booth so we’re not killing everyone's vibe.”

I blink twice before realising he’s trying not to be a hindrance to me. “I don’t mind. It’ll be nice, like being at my pop’s.” I smile and he smiles one of the smiles I’m starting to realise is actually genuine before his eye catches on the entrance and he gives me an apologetic look. 

 

When he and his buddies come into view I let my eyes rake over them methodically as Colin introduces me, “Megan, she’s my neighbour.” and his buddies “Megan, this is Greg,” he points to the black guy with a winning smile and a buzzcut, “and my little brother, James.” He grasps James by the shoulders despite the fact that they’re the same height, his hair tied up into a messy knot but somehow strands are still hanging into his eyes and I smile back upon seeing his soft smile. After giving them a small wave, they head off to the bar as Colin sits back down and I slouch before turning back to the screen and not offering to move my legs. They don’t ask me to or comment on it, simply shuffling into the opposite side next to each other and watching the game until halftime without a comment to me.

By halftime Greg and James have caught up to our first round easily and now we’re all sitting at five beers and the table looks like a rich kid’s frat party where red cups were replaced by beer bottles. I sigh and look around cautiously before starting to clear the table, and James gets up to help since he’s at the edge and the other two are deep into a discussion of bets and play-offs. 

 

“Thanks.” I smile, relishing in the slight buzz.

He smiles back, “No problem. So, what do you do for a living?”

“I’m a Software Engineer. How about yourself?” I ask as I take a seat by the bar. James joins me before speaking, “I just got back from my last tour, so I’m not sure. Greg’s a vet counsellor, in that he’s both a vet and a therapist for vets, he’s trying to get me back out there.”

“Well, then,” I pause, “any thoughts so far?”

“Nah.” He brushes the question off. “So,” his tone becomes upbeat, “What’re we thinking?” and turns back to the bar counter, menu in hand. I lean lightly into his space to read off the menu. 

“Have you and Greg had lunch?” I ask, and he shakes his head no. “Well then I’ll get some of everything since we’re all starving, and,” I point to the screen, “ _ your game is about to begin _ .”

He nods and gets up, “Just yell if you need help.”

“Will do.” I say before flagging down a stray waiter that clearly didn’t sign up for this level of activity to order almost everything on the menu.


	10. Casablanca

I shuffle back into my side of the booth with another four beers and, seeing as they clearly don’t mind, stretch out further until our food arrives. Colin is right, they  _ are  _ loud but it only allows for me to de-stress, tension slowly slipping from my shoulders as they get more passionate. It’s in the commercial break after the first game that the food finally comes and we all dig in ravenously at the spread of buffalo wings, onion rings, french fries and potato skins with extra bacon. “I can’t  _ believe _ I never came here.” I murmur and glance at Colin with a thanks. He flashes me a grin before getting swept up in the game once more and what feels like barely an hour later, three more games have passed and the food has long since run out. A little bit more traffic is coming in, and an extra waiter just clocked in as I realise I’m actually enjoying myself. There’s a slight grin on my face, the alcohol is still buzzing slightly in my head and my stomach feels content, as I lie back into the seat. The boys have stood up to make use of the toilet after my third trip and when they return and Colin pauses at my side. “Mind if I sit here?” I shake my head and draw up my feet so he has space and he thanks me with a grin before slinging his arm around my knees in a familiar and endearing way. I’m not paying attention to what they’re talking about in great detail but rather close my eyes to bask in the feeling of contentedness before the next round of drinks arrive. 

 

I can feel myself calm down and open up, soaking in the atmosphere of camaraderie and revelry, almost like I’m expanding outwards, I find myself perking up after the food and end up in much of Colin’s space as he is in mine. We’re all joking together in between games and my heart warms as I realise I’ve made new friends without trying. When the games are done and music takes the figurative stage, I glance at Colin- perhaps not for permission, but rather to ensure his brother won’t get the wrong idea- before taking James’ offered hand to dance at Colin’s slight nod. Greg is whining something but I’m focusing on not ending up all over Colin as I traipse over him- my shoes long-forgotten under the table. I realise he would’ve made space for me and I smile, putting a hand on his shoulder that he touches gently with his fingertips before James leads me to the dancefloor. It’s a gritty 80s song everyone seems to know the words to and I laugh instead of attempting to remember the lyrics as James yells along passionately. We bop to the beat, using our similar hair-lengths to our advantage as we quickly run out of actual moves.

 

When the beat tapers off, Colin gives a whoop and an exaggerated clap so James I take a deep bow before laughing into each others shoulders for support. When I get back to the table, I’m smiling at Greg’s infectious laugh, “Hey, do you guys like trivia, and are you free next Wednesday at 5?” I ask on a whim, and Colin smiles widely at me before catching my arms as I wobble slightly into the space he’s made for me. 

Greg smiled, “Yes and yes.”

James groans, a smile still on his face, and I smirk at Colin as I recognise the facial expression. “Dude, we’ve talked about this, you can’t just agree to stuff because the person’s hot.”

“Well, I’m flattered, boys.” I smile before continuing, “It’s my friend’s birthday party and she just wants to have a good time at the trivia bar around the corner. Some light drinking, some  _ mental _ ass-kicking- it’ll be a good time.”

“Oh, yeah?” Colin asked with a raised eyebrow.

“You already agreed to go, 6A.” I teased.

He put a hand on his chest, “I’m wounded, Megan, I thought it was Colin now.”

“Must’ve slipped my mind.” I smirked and raised my empty beer bottle for a drink before putting it down with a sigh. “Well, that ruined  _ that _ .”

Colin barks out a laugh, and slides me another beer before looking expectantly at the boys.

 

When I look at them again, after taking a swig, Greg’s face is smug, an eyebrow raised as James fails to hide his grin while he re-ties his hair, and when I look back at Colin he’s face is bemused as he stares steadily at them, slowly shaking his head before looking my way. “ _ Okay _ .” I sigh, “What did I miss?” Colin sighs as Greg muffles a laugh, and I frown at James as he presses his lips together, pointedly looking away until I return my gaze to Colin. He meets my eyes and leans back into the booth, taking a sip of his drink and giving me a pointed once-over as I click. “ _ Oh. _ ” I say in realisation, and look at the boys in quick succession, Colin’s smile widening as the others look slightly nervous. “No.” I say pointedly. “I don’t do relationships.” I say to no effect, so I look at Colin, “I don’t know who I’m convincing- help.”

He sighs again, putting his drink down, “Well,  _ apparently _ , you’re convincing  _ me _ .” He says with a tilted head.

“Oh.” I say in realisation again, before relaxing into Colin’s side with a grin. “He doesn’t want a serious relationship, though.” I say with a questioning glance to the other two and James scoffs.

 

“So?” Greg says, “You could cut the sexual tension with a knife.”

“I’d rather cut it with something more blunt.” Colin says suggestively and I laugh.

“I have rules.” I say in an unconvincing attempt to decline.

“So does he. Believe me, I have heard never-ending fucking monologues on his rules.” James says with a pained voice and everyone laughs. 

“Well, then, maybe later when I don’t have to go to work in seven hours.” I say, after glancing at the time.

“Afraid I’ll keep you up?” Colin teases, and I smile back, patting his cheek twice.

“Yes.” I say firmly and he smirks before leaning back into the booth, his beer in his left hand as his right arms slings over my shoulder. Not one for boundaries in any situation, I shuffle my shoulders slightly, drawing my feet up and leaning completely into his torso as I grab my beer.

“Un-be-lievable.” Greg mutters with a shake of his head and James gives a soft laugh before clicking his beer with Greg and dominating the conversation for the first time, debating about the winning teams.

 

It’s at least another hour before we all finally get up, and I say concerned, “You guys aren’t going to drive while you’re this wasted right?”

“Nah.” Colin answers for them as we all stumble into the cold night air. “They’re crashing at my place.” They’re heading in the wrong direction, so Colin and I take an arm of the interlocked pair each and rotate them round, leading them to the mercifully short distance and somehow no one ends up in the middle of the road. Colin gets the door and James holds it open as you walk up to the steps and sit down with a harsh breath. “Ugh. Can we just take a moment, these lights are making me dizzy.” I complain, leaning back uncomfortably with my eyes closed.

Colin laughs as he pushes Greg up the stairs behind James, before giving them instructions. “All the way to the top, first one on your right, guys.”

 

They grumble good-naturedly at the amount of stairs as Colin pauses beside me. “I don’t think it’s the  _ lights _ making you dizzy, sweetheart.”

I scoff, “Why, did you think it was you electric personality.” 

“No, I was thinking the, what?” He pondered for a second, “Seven beers you had.”

I shrugged and laughed, “That makes more sense.” He nods with a smile, before glancing up to see the guys’ progress.

“Alright, Meg, let’s get you up there.” He says, leaning down slightly.

I wave him off, “I’m fine, I’m fine, you go ahead- I’ll catch up.” I insist as I tie my hair into a ponytail, nonetheless Colin heaves me up by my elbow and I mutter a thanks as he assists me up the first flight. Once there, though, muscle memory is kicking in, and we walk together at a steady pace as Greg cusses Colin out for taking forever.

 

“Sorry, guys, that’s on me.” I say easily as we stat ascending the last flight.

James harrumphs and Greg fires back, “Well, unless you guys are getting together, I can see no good reason for it. Toss ‘em up.”

Colin is halfway to complying when I give him an incredulous look and take the keys with a firm, “No.” I shove the keys in my pocket as Colin grumbles. “Sorry, Greg, but even if you guys weren’t hammered, that’s just a bad idea. There’s a massive hole in the middle of our staircase, many a thing has been tossed and lost that way.”

As we climb up the final stairs, I hand Colin’s keys back to him before heading to my own place. 

 

“Night, Megan.” Colin said over his shoulder as he herded the other two in.

“Goodnight, Colin.” I respond softly as I withdraw my key. “Goodnight, guys.”

“Sleep tight.” Greg replies from somewhere behind Colin and laughs at James’ addition as Colin shakes his head and I frown.

“What he say?” I ask, confused.

Colin shakes his head and deadpans, “Don't let the bedbugs bite.”

I make a noise of understanding and realise we’re both pausing at our slightly closed doors. 

“Okay.” Colin finally says.

“Right, I’ll see you around.” I smile and he nods while we close our doors.


	11. Records

It comes as no surprise that I don’t see Colin before work, since he seems to get up at normal human hours- so good for him. Work is almost less than a blur, I barely ate and Camille was on holiday so apart from asking Karmine if she wants to team up for quiz night-  _ yes, that sounds lovely _ , she had said, I barely talked to anyone all day before heading out as the clock hit five. Thinking on dinner options all the way home doesn’t help me make a decision, so I’m still pondering as I climb the stairs, and realise it’s been ages since I’ve actually had someone living close by that I’ve gotten along with. On my way to my apartment, backpack still on my shoulder and helmet in hand, I fold my previously ready-held key into my hand, and knock on Colin’s door.

I smile as the muffled sound of steps can be heard, and he opens the door, smiling upon seeing me. “Eating alone sucks, wanna grab a bite?” I say in lieu of greeting and tilts his head in acknowledgement. 

 

“Sure. What were you thinking?” He asks easily, and quickly ducks inside to gather his stuff as I walk across the hall and unlock my door, holding it open for him. I pursed my lips in contemplation.

“Well, I usually get takeout on Monday and I had Chinese a couple of days ago...nah, I don’t really mind. I’m easy.”

“Pffft. I wish.” He grinned.

“Well, by all definitions, I think you’ll find that you’re wrong…” I said with a smile, “Would you like a drink?” 

“I’ll have whatever you’re having…” Colin says, plopping down on the leather couch. “What about the italian place on the corner?”

“Hmmm, oh, Leo’s? They’re pretty great,  _ and _ they deliver.”

“Sold!” Colin proclaims and I laugh, placing the two cold cider’s on the counter to open them.

 

“Would you like a glass?”

“Nah, I’m good, thanks.”

I quickly grab the takeout menus in one hand, the two bottles with my other hand, and head to sit next to Colin on the couch. He takes the offered bottle with a thanks and a smile, before glancing over my shoulder as I locate the correct menu, the lion serving pizza and wine with a crown atop its mane and a bib that says “Leo’s” is the giveaway. I lean back perusing the too-familiar menu, and only when Colin talks do I realise how close we’re actually sitting, but we’re both comfortable, and this way he can see, so it’s no big deal despite the fact that my usual response to a sensual voice rushing over my skin in for goosebumps to rise in place.

“It all looks delicious.” He says in a low voice, and I take a deep breath.

 

“Oh, yeah, it is pretty awesome. I always get the tiramisu, because then I know I’ll end the meal on a high, as for mains I usually jump between the margherita pizza and the bolognese manicotti.” I say, and point out the two dishes on either side of the menu. Colin ponders the choices, making a humming noise in his throat as I hold out the menu for him to see.

“Well, I’m pretty indecisive on good food, and those sound delicious. Can we just share?” He asks, his tone open and inquisitive.

I shrug, “Yeah, of course, I don’t mind. Any dessert?” I ask, flipping the menu offer and displaying the few dishes they have and he groans.

A laugh bubbles out from my lips as he drops his head on my shoulders, sounding in agony, “I’m so fucking bad at this please just choose for me.” He whines and I reach for my phone, locating the saved number and quickly placing an order after giving them the address. 

 

_ “Gus will be there in forty minutes.”  _ Stacy lets us know and I thank her before paying over the phone, reciting my credit card as Colin huffs in amusement before ending the call.

“So how did you guys go this morning?” I ask, putting the phone and menu down to retake my cider and turning towards Colin.

“Oh, easy start. No sweat. Heard you getting up real early, though?” He asks, his voice slightly tinged with concern.

“I get up really early for my job, sorry I woke you.” I grimaced.

He waves it off, “Nah, I’m a light sleeper. Went right back to it.” He says, his eyes avoiding mine as he scratched his neck. My eyes narrowed suspiciously at his almost-forced nonchalant tone that I recognised from the bar when he was flirting. 

 

“You don’t have to talk about anything you don’t want to, I know we barely know each other- but you don’t have to lie to me either.” I say, and his eyes meet mine with an indecipherable expression before his lips break into a soft smile.

“I am a light sleeper, and you didn’t wake me.” Colin says in an honest tone, “But I didn’t go back to sleep until much later, though that’s not your fault.”

“Okay. Thanks.” I smile and heave myself up to readjust my limbs so that my hip is pressed into the crease of the couch, with my legs drawn up to the side along the cushion and my left arm comfortably wedged between me and the couch, the right hand still holding the cold cider. Colin places his right arm back on the couch backrest and kicks off his shoes, locking his ankles together as he takes another drink before turning his head to face mine again. “How was work? James said you’re a software engineer?”

 

My voice is full of amusement, “I’m surprised he remembered, honestly. Work is stressful but pays the bills and hopefully my next project will be a little more exciting.” I answer him. “So, what do you do?”

He sighs, “I’m in a band.”

“Cool, are you gonna tell me more or will I have to torture you for answers?” I tease.

He huffs a laugh, “ _ No… _ most people just tell  _ that’s not a job _ instead of asking me about it.”

“Well most people are dicks, but my passion for dicks is no reason to confuse me with one.” I smile.

Colin smirks at me, and nods once, “Okay. I run a band called Weeksend- one word- with my friends, Craig, Ron, Mike and Ash. We write some songs, and we’re having fun experimenting with different genres and sounds.” He said quickly.

“I love music, Colin, like I am obsessed- so just know that when I say  _ that is the coolest thing ever _ , I really fucking mean it.” I say enthusiastically before swallowing the rest of my cider.

 

“Yeah?” He smiled at me, and I nodded before putting my bottle down. He bites his lips thoughtfully and I tilted my head in encouragement, “Can we listen to some of those records?” He asked with contained excitement and I grinned.

“Of course, thought you’d never ask.” I said and got up to walk over. Stretching out, I absentmindedly fiddle with the edge of the bra that’s digging into my skin before Colin follows me to the wall. “I really want to get it properly sorted, but I just don’t have the time.” I sighed as he ran his eyes over the displayed music. “But, yeah, basically, we have some country down in the corner there, the newer records, because that seems to be making a comeback, on the top row and mostly heavy rock to the left and math rock to the right. The middle is terrifying and ambiguous.” I shrugged, “What are you in the mood for?”

 

“Wait, back up a second…” He laughed, “ _ Math rock? _ ”

“What? Oh,” I chuckled, “it’s sort of progressive postrock-indierock. Characterised by atypical rhythm structure and angular melodies. It’s my favourite, and when I realised it’s also called  _ math rock _ , well- I’m a nerd, so.” I shrugged.

“Oh, okay. Well, play me some of that, I’m curious.”

“Okay, if you’re sure.” I said slightly unconvinced and picked up my favourite album before pausing at the record player, “You have to play it really loud, though.” He made a  _ be my guest _ gesture so I placed the record in and squatted down to properly place the needle down, turning up the volume steadily until  _ Spiderland _ echoed through the apartment. I instantly rocked to the music, listening intently as Brian’s voice took the high, and gazed out the window into the city. Colin came up behind me, his hand resting on my upper arm, so I turned around with an expectant expression. 

 

“It’s...not bad.” He conceded. 

“Can I just play you my favourite song, and then we can put on some listening music- your pick.”

“Of course.” he said and I smiled, stopping the needle before quickly eyeballing it to the fourth track, nodding along as the drum sounded out the beat. 

“That is a fucking good beat.” Colin said and I smiled, and he frowned, “Is it in 5/4?”

“I believe so, yeah.” I nodded, “So, what kind of music do you like.”

“New Wave, I guess, but I don’t find that I  _ dislike _ much of anything.” He answered and ran a finger over the records in contemplation as I recalled the newly inducted record.

“Oh, I know!” I said excitedly and Colin raised an expectant eyebrow at me. “The Cars.” He smiled and nodded, “I just got their debut album last week.” I quickly ran my eyes over the area I remembered putting it before finding it with a small exclamation of happiness. “Ha! Here.” I pointed to it. “Which reminds me, where’d you grow up?”

 

“Obviously, Boston, as I’m sure you can tell.” I nodded and he perused the rest of my collection as continued, “I was raised in West Roxbury. You?”

“Roslindale.” I said in amusement, “Practically neighbours. You didn’t move to New York, huh?”

“That is a popular move, right? Nah. I love Boston, and the music I wanna make is ugh-” he sighs, “this is gonna sound  _ so cheesy _ but  _ for Boston _ , y’know?”

“That’s pretty cheesy.” I conceded, “But it’s also really sweet, and I think I understand what you mean. I’ve been around this country, even did two years abroad, but Boston is-”

“Home.” He smiled, nodding, and I shrugged in agreement. 

“Exactly.” I said, walking back to the record player as the song drew to a close. 

 

“What was it called?” Colin asked, as I placed the record back in its sleeve.

“This?” I said, referring to the record in my hand, and he nodded. “Slint’s second album, Spiderland.”

“And the song? The one you just played, I mean, your favourite?”

“Nosferatu Man.” I smiled and he nodded once before gripping the edge of the  _ Fear of Music Album _ .

“May I?” He asked, and nodded as I put away my album. “Cool. You have pretty good variety but we’ve got to get you some  _ Thin Lizzy _ .” 

“Considering I’ve never heard of them, that’s probably a good idea.” I laughed, and he smiled as he glanced down at the record player to place the withdrawn record down, leaning down to carefully place the needle and turning the sound down a bit.

“ _ There _ we go.” He said with a smile as the beat thumped to life.

I grinned, “I always just wanna headbang to this song.” I whined and Colin laughed, nodding before falling back into my couch. 

 


	12. Rules

“So,” He said, drumming his fingers on his knee to the beat, “what exactly are we doing?”

I raised an eyebrow at him, “You’re worried I’m getting clingy.”

He shrugged, “I’m a fairly touchy-feely sort of person and I’d hate for you to get the wrong idea.”

“But you still wanna fuck me, right?”

“I have rules.” He insists. “So do you.” He conceded, and I nodded once before retaking my position next to him.

“I don’t have much personal space with people I feel comfortable with, Colin. If I hadn’t had people getting the wrong idea before, I’d probably already have removed my bra right in front of you. Because it’s uncomfortable, but last time a guy thought I was trying to seduce him and I lost a friend.” I admitted.

 

Colin’s arm curled comfortingly around my shoulder and I relaxed into his embrace, “Okay, then. Just wanted to make sure we’re on the same page without alcohol.” He reaffirmed and traced a finger over my back, finding the clasp of my bra and I hummed in consent into his shoulder before he snapped it open. 

“That’s pretty impressive.” I said, and threaded the bra out from my sleeves and he snorted. I placed the bra on the couch next to me and he suddenly laughed, I looked up to see an amused expression on his face, “Greg would not stop taking the piss over us both saying we had rules though, fuck that man is annoying.” He shook his head with a fond smile.

“Do you actually have, like,  _ a list _ of rules or…” I trailed off.

“As opposed to those people who say they have rules but just make up rules spur-of-the-moment to suit them?” He said with a exasperated tone and I nodded, 

 

“Yeah, no, I have an actual list of rules.” He begins his list. “No sex with people in relationships, unless they initiate it. No sex with someone who is clearly looking for  _ the one _ . No sex with a friend’s ex or current partner. Always make sure to subtly let them know I’m not looking for a serious relationship, and always,  _ always _ , always, have and use protection.”

I nodded thoughtfully for a beat, before answering with my own. “Always use protection, always make sure that they know I don’t want a serious relationship, no one-night stands with anyone I’ve met at a work-related event or through a friend  _ or _ that lives on this side of the river and no morning-after sex.”

“Why?” Colin whined, and I laughed, “Because, Colin, some men’s morning wood is just like  _ really needing to pee _ .” 

 

“What.” He said unbelievingly and I nodded.

“Yeah. After the, like, third out of four guys was like  _ actually… _ I was like, okay, morning sex- reserved for relationships- duly noted. Have you ever broken any of your rules?”

Colin uhmed thoughtfully before answering, “Yeah. Kinda.” He paused, “I didn’t use a condom the first time. Luckily, we were both clean and she  _ was _ on birth control but that was technically before I had rules, though that one should have been common sense. As for the others...nah, no, I don’t think so, but I feel like yours might be harder to keep to.” He said with a curious look.

“I use to not have the geographic rule, but once I drifted from serious relationships to casual relationships and then eventually really just one-night-stands I made a couple of extra rules just for that because I ran into one or two guys a while after and they were just  _ super weird _ about it.”

 

“So...could I persuade you to break that rule?” He asked in a low tone and I suppress a shiver.

“Uh...truthfully? Probably, yeah, but only because I hope I’m right in thinking that you  _ won’t _ be weird afterwards.” I admitted and a sly smile spread across his face.

“Of course, it wouldn’t be breaking the rule if we had more than a one-night stand.” He surmised, and my expression must’ve shown my confusion as he added, “Not exclusively, just I don’t know what to call it- friends with benefits? Fuck-buddies?” He frowned.

“I think friends with benefits would probably be the most accurate.” I added my two-cents, “I think fuck-buddies is more just acquaintances.” 

“Okay.” He nodded, and then the doorbell rang. “I’ll get it.” Chris said and quickly took a few lumbering steps to the door, tipping Gus with a “Thanks, man.” and headed back to the couch to find it vacated. He took his seat as I waltzed back with the salt, parmesan and cutlery, placing everything down as he unbagged and spread out the food. “Well, it  _ smells _ fucking delicious.”

 

“It tastes  _ better _ .” I promised and he grinned, grabbing a slice of pizza and leaning back into the couch once more.

We talked easily through dinner, leaving comfortable silences that weren’t silence to exist without unease or a need to fill the conversation constantly. Eventually Chris put more mellow music on, and we talked about life growing up in the suburbs, how everyone had moved away to NY or LA only to return hat-in-hand a year later with no idea what to do with themselves. Colin’s dad is a sergeant in the police department and like all of his siblings, Colin enlisted in the marine corps fresh out of high school, eventually only doing one tour like his older sister, Allison. James took to it with a bit more ease but was decidedly done after his third tour ended a month ago, the policies having changed and his heart no longer in the cause. Colin admitted he had some lingering guilt over brushing James off when he asked if he would be joining him in his first enlisted year- the MIA notice a punch the gut after only three months out, the last call they’d had only two days prior still playing in Colin’s brain as he had been incredulous as to James’ desire to stay in the army. 

 

“In the end,” Colin finished, “it was a typo, which we realised when he called us again two days later. Dad was furious, went to Base himself and everything. Anyway, after that I tried to be more supportive but my heart still stopped every time he missed a call, so I dragged him to group therapy on his first leave so I could get over myself and they hit it off right away.” He smiled fondly.

“Yeah, I noticed, so when are  _ they _ gonna…” You trailed off and Colin looked up slightly surprised.

“Get together?” I nodded, “Fuck, I  _ know _ , right, they already act like an old married couple but I can’t tell  if they’re dating and trying to keep it a secret or if they are just really that oblivious.” He shrugs helplessly.

“Permission to meddle,  _ Corporel _ ?” I teased, and his pupils widened slightly.

“We’re gonna circle back to  _ how fucking hot that is _ , but yes. Permission granted.” 

I smiled a self-satisfied smile. “So, basically, you want to be called  _ sir _ in bed.”

 

“Well, the one thing that I do find lacking in the one-night-stand business is the sense of adventure.”

I nodded, “Yeah, you’re right. I can’t think of the last time I tried something actually different.”

“Well, not to be a disappointment or a tease, but I had a quickie this morning and I wasn’t planning on anything for tonight so I already rubbed one out before you knocked on my door.”

I yawned, “Nah, it’s all good. I’ll see you around, I’m knackered from work anyway so I’d probably fall asleep on your dick or something equally mortifying.”

 

“Can I kiss you, though?” He asked, and I smiled placing my lips softly on his. The kiss wasn’t suggestive like some our comments were, I could tell the comments were par for the course when talking to Colin; the fact that he wanted to have sex probably didn’t even factor in. He kissed the top of my cupid’s bow and then withdrew with a low groan, “Yeah, I’m gonna want to take my time with you.”

“Promise?”

“You can hold it to me, sweetheart.” He affirmed, “Do you mind if I call you sweetheart, Megan?”

I thought about it honestly for a while, “No, I don’t. Is that weird?”

“It just felt natural to me.” He shrugged and I nodded as he placed a last lingering kiss on my lips before heading out with a wave and locking the door behind him. I sighed and threw away the take-out containers and five empty bottles of cider before stripping and crawling into bed, quickly bringing myself to orgasm before drifting off, content.


	13. Comfortable

The next day’s mail finally brought along the wedding invitation, along with the usual junk.

“Is it weird that I already know when you get home? You’re very punctual, by the way.” A familiar voice echoed down and I smiled.

“I’m pretty sure it’s just because I like you, but let’s go with no, and I can’t tell if that’s a compliment, an insult or a fact.” I raised my voice up at him, and he gave a short laugh as I began to ascend.

“I’ll take it- and I was just stating a fact- take it however you will. I got Chinese from Wong’s, saw the menu on your table last night.”

“Stalker.” I said laughingly, “Did you get the spare ribs?” 

“The  _ itty bitty spare ribs _ that’s highlighted on your menu? Yeah.” He said, holding one out on chopsticks. “My place?”

“Sure. Just don’t let me forget my helmet or I’ll be waking you up at 5 tomorrow.”

“Don’t tempt me, McMahon.” He said sternly.

“ _ Yessir.”  _ I teased with a two-fingered salute as I got to the last set of stairs. He harrumphed at me with a smile and left the door open, disappearing into his apartment.

 

I glanced around, hands full as he rustled around with the paper bags, procuring two cold beers and condiments before chiming in. “You can just leave it on the counter here,” he indicated to the empty counter space and I dropped my laptop bag unto the counter before inching the helmet under my arm out and placing it along with the mail next to everything else. Shrugging out of my jacket, I placed it on the backrest of the nearest chair and then went to shrug off my shirt, before pausing as my fingers traced the edge of my ribs. “Do you mind if I?”

He shook his head, bypassing the chair and sitting down on the beanbag instead, “Mind if I watch?” He asked teasingly and I grinned as I put my shirt down to take off my bra and replace my shirt before unbuttoning my jeans and tugging them off along with my shoes.

 

As I padded to where he was sitting, I evaluated his place, “Where on earth did you all fit when Greg and James crashed here?” He shrugged.

“I slept somewhere around here after they passed out on the bed.” He gestured to the floor and I winced in sympathy.

“Next time just have them crash at mine, I have a couch and half a bed.” I stated and sat on the floor, leaning against the coffee table. 

“What’re you? Bragging?” He scoffed.

“Jerk.” I said and shoved his shoulder, “I’m  _ trying  _ to be nice.” 

“By inviting my  _ friends  _ to sleep with you?” He asked with a grin and I rolled my eyes.

“You’re such a fucking baby,  _ you _ can crash at mine, I just thought you might prefer your own bed.”

He made a noise of disagreement, “Girls always have better beds…” he squinted at me and I shrugged before smirking and standing up.

 

“You know I love our banter, I do, but food is getting cold.” He said unimpressed.

“You can start eating, I’m just testing your bed.” I said offhandedly and collapsed unto his bed with a groan. “Oww, my boobs.” I complained and he chuckled.

“Told ya.” He said smugly and I groaned before heaving myself up to walk back to him, accepting chopsticks and an open beer as I dug in alongside him.

“I usually only get takeouts on Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays.” I half-complained and he checked my shoulder.

“So,” he began, “I figure the roof is a good place for band practise. Wanna come?”

“When? Now?” I asked, surprised.

He nodded before amending, “At six-thirty.” He glanced at his watch, “In half an hour.”

“Okay, cool. Do you guys have any gigs lined up?”

He finished his mouthful of food before replying, “Yeah, we have a weekly gig on either Fridays or Sundays at The Middle East Upstairs.”

 

“That place is awesome. I need to get out more.” I deadpanned and he chuckled. We finish the food in a comfortable silence, warm and comforting, passing food and mustard and soy sauce back and forth and feeding each other bites of our own food. Somehow, between handing me soy sauce and letting me stuff his face with spare ribs, Colin’s leaning fully against my shins, my feet almost trapped under him as his head cants back between my knees for bites of food. “Ugh.” I groan, leaning back into the chair, “I’m stuffed.” Colin hums and leans back, his mouth opening in a bid for more ribs and I groan as I drop another in his mouth. “Well, I should get going.” I say unconvincingly and he groans in protest.

_ “Feed me…” _ He whines and I roll my eyes but relent anyway.

I ready myself to get up, patting his head in encouragement for him to move but he only slouches into me further, crossing his arms and…”Are you pouting?” I laugh.

 

He scoffs at me, “Yes, of course I’m pouting, I thought you were coming to my show.”

“Well, I don’t know if you have noticed,” I tease, “but I don’t have enough clothes on not to get frostbite on the windy roof- besides, I thought it was  _ practice. _ ”

He whines again, a slight furrow in his brow. “Just loan some of my stuff,  _ then you wouldn’t have to move…” _ He offers tantalisingly and I breathe in deeply to gather resolve as he adds, “I’ll even give you a  _ show _ later.” before giving in with a shrug.

“Fine.” I say and yawn as he smiles in victory before positioning himself to lie perpendicular to my feet and making grab-hand motions. I chuckle but take his hands and let him pull me from the chair so I landed nonetoosoftly, knee hitting the floor with a sharp hiss, and an elbow in his ribs as he pulled me down into his chest.

“Let’s just have a quick nap.” He yawned and I nodded ineffectually into his chest, the softness of his shirt against my cheek as I breathed in the scent of pine and musk with a small grunt of approval rumbling in the back of my throat. His hands released mine and one hooks underneath his head as he jostled us while the other snakes loosely around my waist. I hesitate for a beat before curling one hand under his slightly elevated shoulder and letting the other curl around the top of Colin’s head. 


	14. Practice

 

Our full stomachs lull is into a doze with ease and Colin groans, stretching as his phone beeps. Since I’m closer, I grab the offending sound and press it into his hand before… “Is that for me or the food?” I tease with a small smile as I sit back on my haunches, eyeing his slightly tented sweats.

“C’mere.” Colin says instead and kisses me sloppily, his hand pressing my head down to meet his lips. I hum into the kiss that’s all lips and tongue before pulling back as he sits upright but he only tags along, lightly sucking on my bottom lip before withdrawing with a hum. “Both.”

A grin spreads over my mouth as he smirks and gets up, hauling me to my feet with another press of his lips before walking to pick up his guitar case and bag.

“Need any help?” I ask.

“Sure, thanks.” He smiles and pauses to point at his dresser, “Maybe find some clothes so I don’t have kiss your frostbite better.” He says picking up all the bags anyway before depositing them at his front door as I rummage in his drawers for warm slacks and a hoodie that has morse code over the front.

 

“Promises,  _ promises. _ ” I laugh, and he smiles. The clothes must be slightly baggy on Colin since the slacks fall over my socked feet and the hoodie leaves only my fingers exposed. “You know this says  _ fuck _ , right?” I ask, running my fingers over the morse code after I’ve closed his drawers, and meet him by the door as he smiles and nods in confirmation, one ear on the phone giving directions as I sling one of the bags over my shoulder before following him up to the roof. The sun is starting to dip below the lowest buildings and casts a warm orange light on the streets giving the illusion of warmth that’s a complete deception going by the chill working through my windswept hair, so I tug the hood up over my ears and trail behind Colin as he hugs his bandmates, following suit, I give them all quick hugs before handing Colin the bag as the bassist, Ron, comments, “I thought we weren’t letting groupies attend practise anymore, Colin.”

“Well, I’m his neighbour and we haven’t had sex yet, but sure.” I comment with an exasperated smirk as Colin glares slightly at Ron, “Besides, that’s a horrible rule- how are y’all against sex after practise, or before practise depending on how that works…” 

 

Colin walks over to me as I talk, having set up his equipment.

“They’re just annoyed that practise is on my roof, and therefore most of the groupies will have sex with me.”

“Ah, I get it now.” I nod, “I would offer my apartment,” I say, my mouth quirking in amusement, “But we’re not in college.” Colin gives a soft laugh as his bandmates continue setting up, Ron having held his hands up in mock-surrender and helping to plug in the drumset.

“Sorry about them.” Colin says, and I shake my head in reassurance, flashing him a smile as I shrug. He gives me a hug, runs his hands over my shoulders and then settles in with his band, securing music sheets before doing a sound check. I find myself gazing dreamily at the city as I wander over the roof- I had almost forgotten how much I loved the roof after not using it for the whole winter, but then inevitably Spring would roll by and I would come back up here for the infrequent apartment block parties or occasional relocated meetings, falling back into coming up whenever I needed some air since the roof was technically closer then the ground floor going outside.

 

As I walked, I recalled something and quickly slipped out into the small hallway leading to the roof and just as I remembered there was a supply closet that was never used, sitting empty apart from a few cobwebbed buckets of dried-up paint and a deformed broom. As the first chords rang out, I walked back outside and smiled as the band began to play riffs at each other, getting into the rhythm with practised ease before playing a short song. They weren’t using their microphones, so I could only barely hear some words over the thrumming beat and settled against the wall to listen, a slight shadow cast behind me as the adjacent building loomed behind us. 

Between songs, the band seemed to defrost around me, even asking me to help Ash keep time with the new song. When they’re halfway through practice, I can see what makes them a great band, because  _ of course they sound good _ but they’re also extremely intuitive and tossing freestyle riffs into the mix when it seems appropriate- and it always is.

 

They have fun, laughing as they play and as they seem more comfortable around me, I deign to hold the beat with them- tapping a foot, tossing my hair or shaking my hips as I see fit- and they respond enthusiastically as the energy seems to compound and bring everything to life. When they take a break, they’re all looking at me slightly differently and smiling slightly as I make myself useful and hand them all bottles of water for fear of them getting tangled in cords should they try and reach the bag themselves. Colin’s barely halfway into his sentence when I interrupt him, “Yeah, of course you can invite them.”

He smiles wider and then asks them if they’d like to tag along to trivia tomorrow night, which they respond  _ yes _ to with varying degrees of enthusiasm before Craig redirects the conversation to their next show with a small smile.


End file.
